[00:00] Hey guys, ChrisFix here and today I'm going to show you how to super clean the seats in your car. Now we have cloth seats right here, we have very dirty ones, and then regular dirty ones. And I'm also going to show you how to clean leather seats that way we cover everything.
[00:13] So with that said, these seats are a mess and after watching this video you'll be able to clean your seats no problem, so let's get started. Now here are all the tools and products you need to super clean your seats. I try to keep it simple, all common products that are relatively inexpensive.
[00:27] You need a vacuum, preferably a shop vac, a brush set, microfiber towel set, and although you don't need it, I highly recommend getting one of these extractor vacuums, and you will see why in this video, especially if you have cloth seats.
[00:40] Now speaking of cloth seats, the products we're going to be using to clean the cloth seats is carpet and upholstery cleaner. It's that simple. And then for leather seats, we're going to be using a leather and vinyl cleaner and a leather and vinyl conditioner.
[00:52] And I'll get more into leather seats. If you have leather seats, you're not going to want to miss that part of the video. very interesting, you're not actually cleaning the leather in the seats. Anyway, all these products are linked in the description so you can easily find them, so let's get started.
[01:06] Now the first thing you want to do is disconnect the negative cable from your battery. And we want to disconnect the negative cable for two reasons. First, we'll have the doors open for extended periods of time and we don't want to drain the battery. And second, we're going to be removing the seats for more access to clean them thoroughly, and some seats have
[01:21] airbags in them, and any time you disconnect something with airbags, you want to disconnect the battery and let it sit for 20 minutes so the capacity is empty and you don't risk an accidental discharge. And 20 minutes later we are safe to remove the seat. So slide the
[01:34] seat back and that gives us access to the two screws in the front that we need to remove and that's one and that's two. Now push the seat forward and we have two more screws back here that we need to remove. Good. Next you want to angle your seat back to give you access
[01:48] to any wires you need to disconnect. And in this car we have one harness right here we we need to disconnect. Good. Now we can carefully remove our seat and you want to make sure that you don't hit any of the metal parts of the seat against the interior or the door
[02:00] panel which could easily scratch it. And with the driver's seat out, now we can do the same thing and carefully remove the passenger seat. And finally we can remove the rear seat by pressing in the two levers below each side of the seat and then this seat bottom pops
[02:12] right out like that. And then we want to remove the seats from the vandalized car as well. Beautiful. Alright so now let's get these seats super clean. Now these are cloth seats But don't worry, I'm also going to grab the seats from the jack so I can show you how to clean leather seats.
[02:26] So there's a huge difference between cleaning cloth and leather, and I want to show you both. That way you know how to do both. Now, we're going to get started with the cloth seats. This is very similar to cleaning the carpet, so very similar steps. This is a mess.
[02:38] Susan's seats are hopefully worse than anything you guys have. And then we have our typical daily driver's seats, which are a lot worse than you think because you sit and touch these every day. So your oil, your skin, all that stuff gets sucked into the seat, and we need to clean it out.
[02:52] So let's get started. Alright, so the cleaning process is straightforward and I'll show you on this cloth seat bottom right here. First, we're going to remove all the surface dirt using a vacuum cleaner. And as you vacuum, be sure to get into those crevices where the stitches are.
[03:05] A very helpful trick to remove this dirt is to use a brush, like the toothbrush, to loosen up the dirt that's stuck in here. Using a brush works super, super well to get that dirt out, which would otherwise not be removed with a vacuum alone.
[03:17] And since this video is all about the attention to details, we want to make sure the seat looks brand new when we're done with cleaning it. So brush and vacuum all the nooks and crannies and the stitching around the entire seat which traps that dirt. So with the seats vacuumed, next we're going to spray down the seat with a carpet and upholstery cleaner.
[03:33] And then we're going to use a brush to rub that cleaner into the material of the seat. Again, brushes make a huge difference when cleaning. In this case, they help agitate the fibers and get that cleaner deep into the seat for a better, deeper clean. Then after you're finished brushing, grab a dry absorbent microfiber towel and then
[03:48] wipe the seat down absorbing that dirt in the cleaner out of the seat cushion. And be sure to get into those hard to reach places as well. So this towel used to be bright orange but now you can see the dark dirt that's embedded in there just from wiping the seat up.
[04:01] So just like with the carpets, a towel could clean only so much. Underneath this top upholstery layer is foam and that foam absorbs all the dirt, all the oils from your skin, dead skin, stuff like that. though this looks pretty clean, under it is dirty. And you might notice this dirt when
[04:16] your seats get wet. Maybe it's rain, maybe you spilled some water, whatever it is. If your seat gets wet and then it dries, you'll see little stain marks. Well that's because the foam underneath has dirt in it and when it gets wet, that dirt comes to the surface and stains this top layer. Well you know what, check this out. Here's a perfect example of
[04:31] what I'm talking about. This seat was nice and clean before it rained a couple days ago and just from the rain being on your clothes and absorbing into the seat, you can see how the seat starts to stain because the foam is dirty underneath the seat and that water
[04:45] brings that dirt up to the surface and you can see right there is a nice mark from sitting down and also we have some more marks on the edge here and we want to get rid of that. So to fix that problem what we need to use, you guessed it, the extractor vacuum. So in
[04:58] this case I'm using plain water in our extractor vacuum but you can use carpet cleaner if you want to and all you want to do is saturate the seat. You don't want to make it super wet where you can easily dry it but you want enough water where it soaks past the surface material and gets into the foam just a little to dissolve that dirt stuck in the foam After you saturate the seat now you going to want to suck out all that dissolved dirt with the vacuum
[05:18] Take your time here and be thorough making multiple passes. And you just want to make sure you suck all that water out. Because with that water comes all the dirt. So anything that you leave in there, you're also leaving behind dirt. With that said, you might consider spraying this down and then vacuuming it up twice.
[05:32] But in this case, the seats aren't too bad, so once should be good enough. So that's the entire process. I did the rest of that seat, I did that seat, and I did the seat bottom. I did everything off camera just to get it done because you get it, it's simple.
[05:45] Now make sure you do the headrest, make sure you do the back of the seat, make sure you do the sides of the seats. Those are all important parts that you should get done while you're cleaning this. And check out the results. These seats came out amazing. But they weren't that dirty to start. Actually, they were pretty dirty. Check that out. That is all from these
[06:01] seats, and that was underneath the skin of the seat. So with those seats done, now we we can move on to these seats. Even though these seats are super, super dirty and caked with mud, we're going to apply the same process. First, vacuum all the surface dirt off, and
[06:15] this is where a strong vacuum works great. But don't worry, even if you can't get all the dirt out with just the vacuum, I have a trick, and that is using a brush. We know a brush works great to get the dirt out of the stitches, but this is a perfect example
[06:27] on why it's good to use it on the rest of your seat as well. Check this out. The brush loosens up the dirt, and now it comes right out with the vacuum. Like I said, you definitely and we want to clean with brushes for that extra clean. Now we want to finish up vacuuming the rest of the seat bottom,
[06:41] and after that, we want to spray it down with carpet cleaner, making sure that we cover the entire seat bottom. Then we're going to use a brush to rub the cleaner into the seat material, and finally, for seats this dirty, you need to use an extractor vacuum.
[06:54] So add some water to the seat to wet the cleaner and make it easier to suck out, and when removing the liquid from the seat, don't rush. You want to take your time here, move slowly, let that vacuum do its job. Make sure you suck out all the water and let the seat dry before reinstalling it in the car so no mold grows in the seat cushion.
[07:10] And there you go. Now that's how you clean a super dirty seat bottom. Now apply that same methodology to the rest of the seats. Boom. What a difference. They look amazing. So both sets of seats are clean except for one thing that a lot of people forget and that is along the sides of the seat and down here where the metal bracket connects to the car.
[07:29] So grab some interior detailer, spray it on your microfiber towel, and clean up all the dirt and dust from the side of the seat. And once this is all cleaned, then you can grab a protectant like this and spray it into the brush, and then brush it onto the entire plastic piece.
[07:44] This has UV protectants in it, and it brings back the original finish to plastic, but it isn't greasy and it won't attract dust. Don't be afraid to get a lot of product on here, and really let it soak into the plastic. Finally, get a clean microfiber towel and buff off the protectant.
[07:58] And that leaves this amazing looking finish. Look at how good that looks. Here's a before and here's an after. Next, let's not forget about cleaning the metal brackets at the bottom. So vacuum the loose dirt off, then use some soapy water and brush all the dirt loose.
[08:12] Finally, we can wipe it clean with a microfiber towel and perfect. Again, attention to detail. Little things like this make a huge difference. You can see how this is all faded. That should be a bright red, but because you hit it with the seatbelt, it causes it to fade.
[08:25] And all you need to do is get some of that high gloss protectant we've been using and massage it into that plastic using a brush. Just make sure you get enough on there where it's really saturated and it can absorb it. Then you're going to want to let it sit for a minute to let it absorb.
[08:37] And then we can go in here and then lightly buff it off. Just like that. And take a look at that nice and bright red the way it was from the factory. Little details like that just make the interior look that much better.
[08:49] Since we're working on the seatbelt quickers, also check the embossed lettering. because lots of times dirt gets caught in there like this. So get a brush with some soapy water in the bristles, and it's just like brushing your teeth. Brush it back and forth until all the dirt is out of there,
[09:02] and then clean it off with a towel. And the last step is to use the protectant, let it soak in there, and then wipe it clean for an amazing finish. Here's a before and after. Details like this make all the difference.
[09:14] And one more very important thing that is seat-related that a lot of people don't think about cleaning is their seatbelt. Just think about it. Every time you get in the car, Your seatbelt is going over your shoulder. It's touching your skin. It's touching your clothes. It's absorbing oils. It's absorbing dirt.
[09:27] So seatbelts are actually surprisingly dirty even though they look clean. So pull the seatbelt all the way out until you get to the end, like that, and then use a clamp to prevent the seatbelt from retracting back in, like so.
[09:39] So now our seatbelt is nice and loose. We're not trying to fight it. It's not trying to pull back into the retractor so we could clean it. So to clean the seatbelt, what I like to do is get carpet and upholstery cleaner, get a clean microfiber towel and just saturate the towel. Get a bunch of cleaner on that towel
[09:53] then grab the seat belt with the towel and run the seat belt through the towel to clean both sides of the seat belt. Make sure you do this along the entire seat belt. Now these seat belts didn't look dirty but check out all the dirt we removed from the belt. That's pretty good.
[10:06] So we pulled a ton of dirt out of here and you can see it all in the microfiber towel. Now you want to get yourself a clean dry microfiber towel and we're going to dry it using the same method. Just run the towel up and down the seatbelt making sure that
[10:18] we dry it pretty well We don have to dry it perfectly because we going to let this sit in the sun and let it dry the rest of the way but this helps get most of that liquid and cleaner out of there Plus it help clean it a little bit more You absorb some of that dirt
[10:30] that's stuck in there still. So that's all there is to cleaning a seatbelt. Nice and simple and you don't need any special tools. Now if you want you can just let this sit in the car and let it dry. Now this wouldn't be a super clean video if we didn't go the
[10:43] extra mile and that means if you guys have one of these extractor vacuums hit it with the extractor vacuum and you'll see how much dirt you get out of these. So just like the seats, soak the seatbelt with the water from the vacuum like that and then suck the water out leaving
[10:57] behind a nice clean seatbelt. And you're going to want to do this for the rest of the seatbelt and make sure you do both sides as well. And I gotta say that is looking super clean. So there you go that's how you clean the seatbelt nice and easy. Don't forget to do this. I'm going to let
[11:12] this dry and as I let this dry I'm going to do the other seatbelt. All right so with the rest of seatbelts cleaned and set up to dry check this out this is everything we pulled out of the seatbelts look at how dirty that water is although the seatbelts looked pretty clean you can see we got
[11:28] a lot of dirt out of them and that's awesome so don't forget to clean your seatbelts that's all there is to it and with all the seatbelts cleaned now let's finish up by cleaning the backrest on the rear seat we'll start with the drop down armrest which is definitely dirty so vacuum it up
[11:42] And don't forget inside any compartments like this. So vacuum this all up. And then I'm going to use a steam cleaner for this sticky mess. It's going to loosen up the sugary, sticky dirt. It's also going to sanitize the plastic by killing the bacteria, which I'm sure is having a field day on there.
[11:56] And since we can remove this, let's remove the cup holder rubber and we can clean it better outside the car. And then we want to use soapy water on this whole armrest. Then give it a good wipe down. And finally we're going to spray protectant into a brush and then work this protectant into the plastic pieces.
[12:10] Make sure you let this soak in there and then wipe it all up using a towel leaving behind a nice restored protected plastic surface. Good. Next up let's clean the material part of the armrest with the carpet cleaner. So brush it in there good and then use the extractor vacuum to suck it out leaving behind a nice clean surface.
[12:29] So finally let's clean the back part of the rear seat and at this point I think you get it. We want to vacuum the seat down. Then we're going to spray it down with carpet cleaner. Then we're going to brush that carpet cleaner into the seat, wet it down with the vacuum, and then finally vacuum out all that cleaner and dirt.
[12:43] And just look at how amazing this works. It sucks out all the dirt we can't even see and leaves behind a trail of cleanliness. I love it. So finish up the rest of the back seat cushion. Beautiful. Look at how good this came out.
[12:55] Although the outside didn't seem that dirty, check this out. If we go over here, that is what we pulled out of the seat. That is definitely dirty water, and we got this nice and clean. Not only is it clean on the outside, but it is clean on the inside and protected so that future spills will come right off.
[13:14] So now we're just going to let that dry completely and we are done cleaning everything inside the car. So that is how you clean cloth seats. They came out amazing. Now, let me show you how to clean leather seats. Now, the most important part to cleaning leather seats is understanding that 99% of the time in your car, you're going to have coated leather seats.
[13:32] They add a coating, a vinyl or a plastic coating, over the leather. That way it's protected. It's relatively maintenance-free because raw leather definitely needs a lot of maintenance to keep it in good condition. So in this case, and in many cases, the seat is coated.
[13:46] And we're not going to be cleaning the leather. We're going to be cleaning the coating. And that's important to understand because that dictates what product you're going to be using. You want to find something that is a leather and vinyl cleaner because we have that vinyl coating on top of our leather.
[13:58] So the cleaner and conditioner have to be for leather and vinyl. So now that you know that, this is how you clean leather seats. Start off by vacuuming the seat to get all that loose dirt removed. With leather, this is simple. The hardest part is down in the stitches.
[14:11] So you guessed it, to get that dirt out, we're using a brush. Now unfortunately, not all the dirt is coming out without a fight. So I added some leather and vinyl cleaner to the brush, and that should do the trick to loosen it up. Then let's get a towel and soak all that up.
[14:23] And finally, get your vacuum to finish it all off. And a little trick I like to do to get that dirt out is push the tip of the vacuum into the leather, which is going to open up that stitching a little. This just helps remove that dirt that's really stuck in there.
[14:36] And just look at how dirty the towel is just from cleaning that little area. You can see all the dirt that we pulled out just from cleaning this crevice. And it's very important to clean each crevice where the stitches are because this is where it traps dirt and this is the hardest part to clean.
[14:50] Cleaning a flat, non-textured surface is super easy. Down in here, that's where it's going to make the biggest difference for the final product. So do your best to clean this out. So make sure you clean the rest of the stitching in your leather seats very well. Then after that get your leather and vinyl cleaner on a microfiber towel and wipe down
[15:05] the flat surfaces of the leather with a medium to heavy pressure to remove any dirt from those surfaces. Okay so with our seat dry and clean just to get you an idea look at how much dirt came off. This used to be a nice bright gray towel. Now it's dark and has stains on it. So we pulled out a bunch
[15:20] of dirt. So now what we need to do is condition the seat. So we want to make sure this looks really good. It looks a little dull right now. It's not protected. We want to protect it with our conditioner Now we can just get our conditioner on here buff it in buff it out but I have an extra step to make it come out that much better and that is to use a steamer When you steam the seats the heat opens up the pores of the seat a lot more which is going to allow that conditioner to soak deeper into
[15:44] the seats, giving you a way better result. So after steaming the seat, dry it with a towel so it's completely dry, and the seat bottom's actually a little bit warm, so the pores are open, now's a good time to get your conditioner, get it in your brush, don't be
[15:58] afraid to use a lot and you really can't use too much and just get complete coverage when working it into the seat. And once the seat is completely covered like that let that conditioner soak in there. You're not going to let it dry but you're going to give it a minute and let it soak in. So
[16:10] after letting that soak in grab a clean fresh microfiber towel and let's buff this off. So this is the process for cleaning coated leather seats. You could apply the same process to the back of the seat, to the headrest, to the other side of the seat and make sure it's completely clean and
[16:24] condition so it looks great like this. And using the correct product is very important. You want something that's not greasy, that's not sticky, that isn't slippery, that's not going to make it shine like crazy. You just want to have a nice, deep, dark, lushness look. And again, one of the
[16:39] most important things is cleaning out the crevices, getting all the dirt out of there, and it's just going to make it look that much better. So that is how you clean leather seats. Now taking a look at the driver's side, I have a perfect example of why it's important to clean and protect your leather.
[16:53] Over time, leather is going to get wear and tear, especially on the side bolster like this, because you're constantly going in and out of the car, and you rub up on it. Now, this is cleaned and protected. The protectant is going to help keep this supple. It's going to help that wear be less each time.
[17:07] It's not going to stop it from wearing, but it's going to make it less. Now, unfortunately, this can't be cleaned. Again, this is actually wear and tear. This is down below that vinyl layer into the actual leather, and you can actually see a little bit on the edge here as well.
[17:19] It can be repaired, but it can't be necessarily cleaned out. We're not going to remove it with a cleaner, but with that said, our conditioner should make this look a lot better. So first, we're going to go in there with our cleaner and just clean the area. Just make sure you wipe the area down and then let it dry.
[17:33] And once that's all cleaned up, then you want to get your towel with the conditioner on it, and you want to wipe that down. And you can see already, check that out. You can definitely see it, but it is blending in. It's not bright. It matches the leather more.
[17:45] So work that conditioner in there, and then buff any extra conditioner off like that. You might need to apply it a couple times so that leather could absorb the conditioner. But look at that. Is that perfect? No. Is it a lot better?
[17:57] Does it stand out less? For sure. Again, that's something that needs to be repaired. But if you could help mask it, if you could help make it look a little bit better so it doesn't stand out, why not? Here's a before and here's an after.
[18:09] And that's all there is to it. That's how you properly clean and condition leather seats. The biggest takeaway is you're really not cleaning and conditioning the leather. You're cleaning and conditioning that vinyl surface layer. But that doesn't make it any less important. You still have to do that. I'd say every six months or so, definitely clean it, condition it.
[18:25] It keeps your seats supple. It helps reduce the cracking. It helps reduce the wear and tear. That way, your seats look amazing for years to come. And with that, now you know how to super clean cloth seats and leather seats, so let's finish this up.
[18:37] All right, and to finish this up, the last thing you need to do is get these seats back in the car. So let's start with the back seat bottom. Slide the seat belt clickers in place, and then just press down so each side clicks in.
[18:49] Good. Now let's carefully get our seat back in the car. Then we can connect the wire holder clips onto the frame of the seat. And then make sure you plug your harness in all the way. And this is important because this is what controls the airbag. Next, you want to grab your seat bolts.
[19:02] And we're going to use medium strength thread locker on the threads so the bolts don't back out over time due to vibration. Then we're going to hand tighten these front bolts in and torque each bolt to spec so that you know your seat is safely secured.
[19:14] Good. Now slide the seat forward and torque the rears down as well. Good. And one last thing, I noticed sliding the seat forward uncovered some dirt on the rail, so if you miss something make sure you clean it up. Now let's do the same thing with the seats
[19:27] in the vandalized car, but instead with a little editing magic. So let's get the passenger seat in, and the driver's seat in, and finally the rear seat cushion. And the last thing to do is to reconnect the negative cable to the battery and tighten it down so it's snug and doesn't move.
[19:43] Good. And with that, now you know how to super clean your seats. So whether they're cloth or leather, you're able to clean them to make them look absolutely amazing like this. And if you've been following along the last couple episodes on how to super clean your interior,
[19:58] now you know how to super clean the entire interior. From muddied up carpets and dirtied up doors to disgusting center consoles and dirty headliners. Now you know how to clean
[20:13] do. Including the dirty seats in this video which went from this to this. And here's the rear seat before which you wouldn't even want to touch. And now here's the rear seat after which I'd have no problem sitting on. What a difference. And that's all there is to super
[20:27] cleaning your seats. Hopefully this video was helpful. If it was, remember to give it a thumbs up. If you're not a subscriber, consider hitting that subscribe button for more videos just like this. All the tools and products I used in this video are linked down in the
[20:39] description so you can easily find them. And now that the car is clean and running great, I'm going to show you how to fix a deep scratch like this, so stay tuned.